


The hereafter

by MysticallyGallavich



Series: The return [2]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Adoption, Daddy!Mickey, M/M, Past, Pre-quel, Storyteller!mickey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-06-28
Packaged: 2018-07-18 18:39:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7325992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysticallyGallavich/pseuds/MysticallyGallavich
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mickey tells Ian the story of how he met Isabelle and Alex.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The hereafter

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not completely satisfied with this, but here it is. Hope you like it. The original was a prompt as was the second part which takes place before the events of the return.

Prompt :  
\-- the continuation of the return—prequel – Mickey tells Ian how he came to adopt Isabelle and Alexander.

\--

“I don't really want to talk about this, it was a long time ago, it was a dark time after you and before them,” Mickey says to his boyfriend as they lay in the couch.

“Okay. But I want to know. I get it. I left, I'm an asshole, but the part where you found our babies. I want to know that. Those two are so amazingly special to me and I just met them a year ago. I want to know how you fell in love with them. You already know how I did.” Ian says and Mickey sighs.

“Alright. But no interrupting. No sappy declarations or sad eyes, because before them was a lot of hate and shit and a lot of darkness about you leaving.” Mickey says and Ian nods, giving Mickey a sweet kiss to assure him it was fine, it was all over now and they were absolutely fine.

\--

_It was a cold and bitter Chicago winter. Not only in name but in everything else it would seem. Mickey looked around and took in a cold and harsh breath as he walked down the sidewalk. Ian was gone, really gone. He wasn't just ignoring him or finally givin up he had left everyone and anything that mattered and why? Because Mickey was too much of a pussy to just tell him he loved him that, that he gave a damn. He let out a growl, really at nothing in particular and continued down the street._

_It wasn't a particular thing that he could remember pulling him in the direction he ended up, he just made his way there as if he was supposed to be there, standing in the exact place he was at that particular moment. He would call it silly later, but maybe it was true. Because if he hadn't been so out of his fucking head right then, he wouldn't have been standing on that corner when the little girl walked past, all of three years old. Which is why he noticed it. It was the southside of Chicago, and seeing children running past wasn't uncommon, but this time he took notice because she was so little and she kind of reminded him of Mandy when they were kids. Her little clothes looked worn and torn a little bit and they were dirty, much like her face.  
She looked around from side to side as she clutched the bag in her hands as if she was looking for something, scared for her life and he recognized that look. He recognized it in himself and his siblings. He didn’t say anything, he just watched as she ducked through the yard of an old ratted house. Another thing that reminded him of his childhood. He didn't know why he did it but he followed her. He felt a need to know why this little girl, who shouldn't_ _be in these streets alone was indeed traveling by herself down the street. He found himself thinking of Ian, out on the street somewhere alone and needing help, how he compared that to a little three-year-old girl was beyond him but everything reminded him of his ex, these days so it wasn't really that odd he supposed._

_He watched as the little girl crawled through the yard. Opening the little Window that he knew had to lead down into the basement of this house and he just stood there wondering. Wondering what she was doing. After a while, he seemed to come out of his trance and he backed out of the yard, taking in where exactly he was. He wasn't sure what he was doing. Whatever was going on in that house was none of his business. He told himself that as he walked away and found himself back at home._

  
_He told himself the same thing as he stared down at the stacks of G.E.D paperwork sitting on his table that he fully intended to toss out the window. Mandy and her dumb ideas. What was he gonna get a Degree for? So he could stare at it? Not like anyone but Mandy was around to be proud of him, if Ian were here, maybe. Maybe someone would care? But what good would it do him now? Ian was gone. Gone forever._

_  
Early the next morning after contemplating his life's fucked up choices he went back to the house. He stared at it from the sidewalk, wondering. It's when he saw the sign in the yard that he hadn't noticed before. A for sale sign. He shrugged it off, not like houses never went up for sale In this shit neighborhood. He walked up to the porch and looked inside, the house was empty, from what he could see. He looked at the sign closer to see the information. An auction? That only happened if someone lost their house or the owners died. He was more than curious by now but he didn't move. He just thought about the little dirty girl that had crawled into the basement. Was this her house? Was she all alone down there? Or was it something else?_

_The southside thug in him wanted to ignore that aching feeling in his chest. The gnawing on his mind that called him a failure, that no matter what was going on here, it wouldn't erase his past failures. The inability to come out, or to be the man that his red-headed boyfriend had needed him to be, the sting of Ian leaving him, leaving everything still pounding in his head. And then he Thought about Ian more. Like the voice was in his head. Do something Mickey. The voice said. You aren't a piece of shit, help her, like you didn't help me. Mickey sighed and walked down the stairs and he is shocked when he sees the basement window open and the little girl crawls out of it. She doesn't see him, just like he was sure she didn't take any notice to him the previous day. She has the bag in her hand but it's empty now and she starts walking down the street. She whispers something into the window and takes off.  
Mickey stands still for a minute and when she's out of sight he walks to the window to look in. His curiosity of the basement taking over him and he lifts it, silence for a minute and then the shrill shriek of a baby crying and he doesn't think, he just climbs in. That might not have been the smartest move but he does it anyway, he notices the wooden boxes stacked up as a later from the basement floor to the window. What the hell? How did a little girl come up with this? Maybe she didn't. Maybe she was older than she looked. He was unsure. Malnourished possibly. He made his way to the crying sound and there it was. A little baby boy. Sitting strapped into an old and worn car seat. “Hey..it's okay.” He tried to comfort the boy but how could he, unlike Ian, he hadn't really spent much time around babies in his life, except for when he was really little and Mandy was a baby but he didn't really remember that._

_It was hours before the little girl crawls back in, and she doesn't notice him at first. But when she does she screams. “L…leave him alone!!” She screams her tiny hands balling into a fist. The fear evident in her eyes as she places the now full grocery bag on the ground._

_“Calm down little one. I'm not hurting him. He was crying, just came to see what was going on. It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you. Where are your parents? Do you know where they are?” He asks calmly. She eyes him as if she doesn't want to answer him, she doesn't trust this stranger and she is way too small to already have so many trust issues and it saddens him. He doesn't know why it affects him too much but it does. “What do you got there?” He changes his question. She pulls out diapers and formula. So that's what she was doing. Probably stealing things for what looked to be her baby brother._

_“Alright. Do you know how to change his diaper?” He asks and she nods confidently. Of course, she does. “How old are you?” He asks curiously. How can a girl this young be taking care of a baby this small and it reminds him of Fiona. The stories he's heard about a little Fiona taking care of lip and Ian. And the thought makes him frown. “Can I call someone for you? Your parents? Family?” He asks and she shakes her head. He can tell before she opens her mouth that her next worlds are lies._

_“At work. They'll be home soon. You can go.” The little voice says, still scared of him.”  
“Okay. You don't trust me, I wouldn't either. I mean look at me, I don't scream trust and parental guidance. If Ian was still…nevermind. What if I call a friend? Someone more parental? I'm not leaving you and your brother alone to die. Maybe…what if I just bring you food? That okay?” He asks and she looks at him, obviously hungry._

_“Okay.” The little voice says. “To food.” She clarifies. And he nods._  
\--  
_It happens much more than that. Mickey can't think of what he can do for this girl and that baby. He doesn't want to freak her out, and he doesn't want to call anyone yet, getting her thrown in the system was the last thing she needed, and weeks pass and she starts to answer some questions. Not many, just yes or no ones. He spends most of his time, taking things to this girl and the baby, he holds the baby and feeds him most of the time, and the girl seems thankful. but weeks later, Mickey knows something has to be done, he just doesn't know what._

_"What about...You come to my house?" he asks lightly._

_"No.," she says eyeing him._

_"Nothing weird. You need a bath, and I'm pretty sure you can't go up there, nobody to take care of you. I won't....Umm, I'm trying to think here. For all you know, I'm some creepy Pedo, and I'm not, who would you trust? a woman maybe? I have a sister. She's really nice. Or um, there's this friend of mine, she's cool. Raised a bunch of kids herself. How about that? If they're there to help?" He asks and she seems to think it over._

_  
"Okay. Are you going to tell? Tell the people that we don't have a family?" she asks shaking a little._

_"No, not yet. Look, you need help. you're a kid, but I've been in those places, I have and it sucks, and I just want to make sure you're okay first. then we'll figure it out, together okay?" he says and she nods._

_He brings the kids home with him and he calls Fiona. He know's its weird, but who else would know about this shit. She raised all of her siblings, she kept them safe and most of the time out of the system. If Ian was here, he would call Fiona, he knew that much, so that's what he did. he called Fiona._

_"Hello?" She answers the phone._

_"hey, Fi...it's Mickey." He says. Even though he knows, she knows his number._

_"I know, We haven't heard from him yet, I promise okay? I promise I'll tell you." She says. She's exhausted, she's worried, he knows she won't tell anybody that, if he knows Fiona, she's playing it off like it's no big deal, like her brother is just off taking a vacation or some shit, not off doing god knows what with god knows who._

_  
"It's not about Ian. It's...I need your help with something important. Can you come over to my house? Please." He says and he hears her sigh but she agrees._

_\--  
“What's going on Mickey?” Fiona asks and he opens the door and ushers her in and she stops dead in her tracks. “Mickey..why are there children in your house?” She asks and he explains. Every detail he knows and she just sits on the couch. She shakes her head a few times._

_“I'm not abandoning her or them. I don't know why Fiona, I just, help me?” He says softly and she looks up and sees his sad eyes. And she knows she has to help him. She has to help him because he's lost everything. Because her brother took off and she knows the truth, even if Ian never told her, she knows, and because Mickey as much as he tries to hide it is a good guy and she knows that growing up in this shit hole does_ _something to a person and here are these little kids that need something or someone and maybe Mickey isn't that person for them but maybe just maybe he fucking is._

_\--  
Mickey spends the next few weeks getting things for the children, finding out about them. The little girl finally seems to trust him, slowly, and just a little but it's enough. The little boy of course already does, because he's a baby, a baby who sees Mickey as the guy who feeds him and puts him to sleep. Fiona helps him get some things as well, like a crib for the baby, and a bed for her. She finally tells him her name is Isabelle and her brother is Alexander, she calls him Alex._

_Turns out she's more of a talker than he had initially thought and she's quite the cute kid when she's all cleaned up. Which she is now. It has been three days since they have even been back to the basement, and she doesn't mention going back there today. She has in the previous days, she always asked because to her that was home. She told him that, they used to live upstairs until their mom died. Dad had already been gone for years, but their mom had been there, until she had gotten sick._

_Isabelle told Mickey about how her mom taught her to take care of Alex because they would only ever have each other. Mickey asked her about family and over and over again she told him, they had none. She didn't want to go into the system, she had heard about it, and he had to agree with her, he didn't want that to happen either. He didn't know what he was doing with these kids, but shipping them off to live in those horrible places weren't it. He just didn't know how to avoid that, for now though, he just took care of them, the only way he knew how. By keeping them fed and clothed._

_\--_

_Everything worked out fine for a while. He took care of these kids that weren't his, he kept them safe. He wouldn't admit it out loud but they were family to him. It was obvious to Fiona who commented on it to him occasionally but he brushed her off. It was apparent to anyone who walked into his house that he loved these kids. By now they had been living with him for six months, he bought them things, that only a father would think to buy his children but still, he said they were only some kids living with him temporarily. That was until he had no choice but to admit something has changed. That day was a day he wasn't likely to forget._

_The truth was he was afraid because every time in his life that he considered something his, it was ripped away from him, leaving him broken and unsure of what to do next and this was no different. The day that Child protective services showed up at his door, ripped his heart out. More than anything had since or before Ian had left. He had promised to protect them, promised Isabelle that he wouldn't let them take her and here he was, he had gotten too comfortable, taken them out too many times. Who had seen them? Who reported him? He didn't know but he was pissed as he yelled at the lady who kept saying they weren't his and they needed a proper home._

_“They are home!!! I've been taking care of them…I love them!!!” He yells at her and she is taken aback for a minute._

_“You…what?” She says obviously shocked._

“They are mine, damn it. Please don't do this.” He begs and he knows then because Mickey Milkovich hasn't felt this helpless since Ian left to go off wherever he did.  
“If you really want them. You'll have to go court and I wish you _luck. But right now I have to take them.”_

_Mickey hadn't cried in a long time. But when he looked into a little girl's eyes that were pleading with him to do something he cried as he knelt down to her._

_“I'll get you back okay? You be good and protect Alex okay. I'm gonna get you back.” He says_

_“Why? Why do you care?” Isabelle asks._

_“You're family. You don't leave family.” He says and even if the look on her face says he's full of shit she just lightly smiles. She trusted him and he let her down. He always let people down. Fuck._

_\--  
It takes him two months to be able to see them again. Two long horrible fucked up months. He gets to see them, in a room. Isabelle draws back into herself at first. Not wanting to say anything. He thinks she's mad at him that she blames him. If he had never gotten involved maybe she would still be in that basement with her brother but where would they be now? Probably starving or dead, he thinks. But he keeps fighting, He does. Because he can fight for them, love them, he can't fight for a lot of things, some things go away and just don't come back, sometimes, it can't be helped but not this, he's gonna fucking fight for them._

_It's at this time away that Mickey decides to go back to school, to make a life for his family that he is determined to win back. He studies and works odd jobs to find a good lawyer.  
\--_

Ian looks at Mickey as he talks, talks about their children, and he feels a tear fall down his face. He listens as Mickey talks about school and saving up money while fighting for visitation rights. “Babe…” Ian starts.

“Hush. I'm not done.” Mickey says. And he lays his head on Ian's shoulder as he continues

\--

_Visitation was hard, every time Mickey saw the kids, he wanted to take them home. Isabelle was getting bigger, although she still looked sad. She brightened up when Mickey entered the room now. Alex was growing like a weed, and he softly cops when Mickey picks him up._

_“Hey, kid. You look better. Not mad at me anymore?” He asks Isabelle._

_  
“Not mad. Why are you fighting for us? You're free.” She asks him softly, the curiosity beaming from her face._

_“Family. Kid, you might not be my flesh and blood but I'd like to be your family if you'll have me.” He says and she nods._  
\--

“It took four months after that day. Before I got them on weekends. Two months after that, I got temporary custody and they've been here ever since.” And Ian nods.

“I love you, Mickey. And I love that you are this amazing person that took these beautiful kids in who love you more than anything.” Ian says kissing Mickey.

“They love you too, ya know?” He says and Ian smiles brightly.

“And I love them,” Ian says

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> @mysticallygallavich -- tumblr.


End file.
